Fiction. Music. Art. App.

The Hope We Seek fuses Rich Shapero's provocative novel with hypnotic, original musicfeaturing the vocals of Marissa Nadlerand the Visionary art of Donald Pass. The result is a riveting and fully immersive storytelling experience.

"Rich Shapero deftly reveals man's hunger for gold and for sex as mere intoxicating perfume lilting off a far deeper Source. Unexpected and original, this tale is indeed full of the hope we all seek." –Rebecca Hoffberger, Founder/Director, American Visionary Art Museum

"Rich Shapero's new novel, The Hope We Seek, is an elegantly written epic of gold, adventure, and love in one of America's last frontiers. There's just the right touch of magical realism in his Far North wilderness. . . . Shapero is a spellbinding storyteller." –Howard Frank Mosher

About The Hope We Seek

Zachary Knox, a sharpshooter known as "the Bull's-Eye Telepath," heads north in search of gold. On his way he meets Sephy, a magnetic woman on the trail of her lost brother. But on arrival, they find the mining camp is home to a cult. The mine boss, Trevillian, rules the camp like a despotic priest, and at the center of his faith is Hope, an elusive goddess for whom the miners toil, enduring increasingly perilous trials as they pursue her into the depths of the earth.

Zack determines to overthrow Trevillian, guided by Sephy's cryptic directions—until Hope appears and reveals the astonishing future she has in mind for him.

With epic force and seductive allegory, The Hope We Seek transports us to a netherworld of danger and allure—where arduous labor, sustained by unwavering belief, promises an unearthly reward. Rich Shapero once again holds a dark mirror to the passions that drive us, and the extremes to which we go to find meaning in our lives.

Creating The Hope We Seek

In The Hope We Seek, Rich Shapero assays human aspiration.

Says Rich, “There’s a clearly-defined moment for most of us when we enter the adult world. Often it occurs when schooling ends. It’s a threatening time, full of doubt, fears of the unknown, fears of failure. We know it’s going to be a long road. But we have aspirations. And most of us don’t have a choice. Earning a living is a matter of survival. So despite our dread, we plunge in. We find work. The work isn’t what we dreamt of doing, but we hope it will lead to something better. Our aspirations remain with us. If we grit it out we might get there. Somehow. Some day.> More About the Book

About the Music

The music, Songs from the Big Wheel, is performed by a female singer and musicians during the course of the story.

“The camp madam, Salt Lick, writes these songs for the purpose of entertaining and encouraging the miners. She’s creating a connection between what goes on in the alcoves and what’s going on in the mine.

“The songs also reflect the tenor of the camp—their progress in the diggings and their emotional state, as seen through Salt Lick’s eyes. The miners live with these songs in their ears, so phrases from them emerge in their dialogue. The songs are a part of the world of the mine. And they were with me during the writing of the novel. As with my other projects, the music and lyrics evolved with the story.” > More About the Music

Listen to the Music of The Hope We Seek & View the Lyrics/Liner Notes

Rich Shapero's The Hope We Seek multimedia Book App, designed specifically for iOS, seamlessly combines his enchanting novel with original music and stunning visual art to create an immersive storytelling experience. This Book App is available as a free download.

I’ve lived through that moment— When between Hope and her believer, there is no distinction. When the treasure was mine. When I was her gold. From nothingness, from vapor: a creature of supreme worth, with an infinite soul.